Honeycomb Gorge (Kennedy Range National Park)

A short but enjoyable trail, this 600 metre walk takes visitors to Honeycomb Gorge - the most popular natural feature of Kennedy Range National Park. Starting at the car park, the trail heads through a series of massive boulders before arriving at the impressive honeycomb wall formed by wind and water erosion from an ephemeral waterfall. While only a short walk, this one well worth checking out

Distance: 600 metres (return)
Gradient: Gentle gradients over its entire length
Quality of Path: Clear and general well maintained, with a mix of sandy trail and some rockier sections
Quality of Signage: Well signed for its entire length
Experience Required: No Bushwalking Experience Required
Time: Allow 15-30 mins
Steps: None, but the trail is not wheelchair accessible
Best Time to Visit: Winter, but possible all year. Avoid doing the trail on particularly hot days
Date Completed: 8th April, 2021
Entry Fee: No
Getting There: From Ullawarra Rd, turn west onto Lyons River Rd (turn off is 48.4 km north of Gascoyne Junction). Stay on Lyons River Rd for 11.9 km and then turn right onto the access road heading north. After 1.6 kms turn left to head west towards the car park. Trailhead is located at car park

 

Having summited Mt Augustus the previous day, Alissa and I packed up and hit the road for the next leg of our journey. Having decided not to use the shortcut along Lyndon-Minnie Creek Rd to get from Exmouth to Mt Augustus due to the crossing of the West Lyons River, Alissa and I decided to chance it on the way back out. Its proximity to Mt Augustus meant we wouldn't need to double back very far, and if it was passable we would be rewarded with being able to visit Kennedy Range National Park. 

Driving through the arid landscape of the Upper Gascoyne, the sight of trees growing in a line constantly indicate that a creek or river crossing is coming up, and after crossing a few smaller ones we were filled with anticipation for the West Lyons River. Approaching the descent to the culvert crossing, Alissa and I were elated to see that even though the depth gauge had been knocked over in the recent flooding, the track was entirely above water, meaning we were going to Kennedy Range!

Heading south while running parallel to the West Lyons River on Ullawarra Rd, the road to Kennedy Range was another continuous drive on unsealed roads in a sparsely populated area filled with pastoral leases. Other than the occasional hill, cows along the road were the main feature of this drive. We were lucky to not have any walk into the road while we were driving, and our most memorable encounter was a large docile group chilling under the shade of river gums along the road into Kennedy Range National Park itself. 

As you head west along Lyons River Rd to access the park, Kennedy Range appears like a long, continuous wall on the horizon. You see a lot of flat top mesas from Geraldton onwards, but the Kennedy Range have a rockier, more rugged appearance, and are considerably larger than those found in places like Lesueur National Park.

Approaching the range, the formations really come into focus. The Kennedy Range is well known for having an appearance that draw comparisons to the landscape of Arizona and Utah, and while smaller in scale the resemblance is certainly uncanny. 

Given that we had to drive from Mt Augustus, Alissa and I arrived at Kennedy Range just before 10 am, and with the day already in the high 30s, we knew that we would have to limit our walking to a short trail. While Drapers Gorge, Temple Gorge and the Escarpment Trail definitely piqued my interest, they would have to wait for another time when it wasn't dangerously hot outside. As such, Alissa and I decided to head out to tackle the 600 metre walk to Honeycomb Gorge given it is the most popular and iconic feature of the park. 

Damaged by the rains, the roads within the park were in rougher condition however our X-Trail was up to the task of getting us to the trailhead. Given the extreme shortness of the trail, Alissa and I were not too concerned about dying from heat exhaustion on this walk, and you can see that Alissa was so blasé that she walked the trail in the flats she was wearing in the car. I was a bit more committed, and changed into my hiking boots given I didn't really want to walk the sandy trail in my open toed sandals. While fairly casual, we both felt that a hat and sunscreen were definitely essential given the heat and high UV.

From the car park, the trail heads down the fairly open terrain of the gorge. The trail is not overly manicured but is easy to follow thanks to a series of yellow markers glued to the rock pointing the way towards the gorge's main feature. 

Along the way, the trail passes through a field of massive boulders. It is clear here had been a significant rock fall at some stage through this area, and the overall appearance bore a strong resemblance to Shothole Canyon in Cape Range National Park which also features some impressively massive boulders. With boulders this big, you would not want to be anywhere near a cliff face like this as it was collapsing. 

Clearing some of the first boulders and bush, the trail's end comes into view, marked by a conspicuously water stained section of rock.

Approaching the stained rock, it became clear that this is an ephemeral waterfall. Given the arid nature of the Kennedy Range, this is a waterfall that would only flow for a couple of days a year during the rare but heavy downpours that can fall through the Gascoyne.

Clearing a section of uneven rocky trail and the last of the shrubs, the signature, honeycomb-like wall of Honeycomb Gorge comes into view.

The Gascoyne received a once in a decade heavy downpour over early Autumn 2021, however Alissa and I were still surprised to see a large pool at the base of where the waterfall would have been flowing. It would have been amazing to see it flowing and the massive pool of water that must have formed here immediately after the rains, however with access to the park closed off it is one of those spectacular natural phenomenon that would have likely gone unwitnessed. 

As amazing as it would have been to see the pool completely filled with water, the fact it was mostly dried up meant Alissa and I could get right up to Honeycomb Gorge's namesake wall. Formed by wind and water erosion from the ephemeral waterfall, the intricate patterns look so ornate it seems almost unbelievable that they were created by chance and not be an ancient civilisation or a species of giant insects. 

Given it is only 300 metres to the end of the trail, Alissa and I took our time really appreciating all the details. On closer inspection, I realised the formations bore a striking resemblance to those found in Kalbarri National Park, with a particular similarity to the wave-eroded formations seen along the Mushroom Rock Nature Trail in the coastal section of the park. With both parks composed of sandstone, I wouldn't be surprised if they shared a common ancestry in spite of being separated by 360 kms.

Having appreciated the gorge wall and ready to get out of the heat, Alissa and I turned back onto the track to retrace our steps. Walkers should note that there is a dry creek bed from the gorge that looks like it is a trail, however the actual trail is well marked and runs to the right of the creek. 

Even with Alissa and I taking our time to marvel at the sandstone wall, the trail was so short that Alissa and I were able to get from the car, to the gorge and back in 15 minutes, making this by far one of the shortest 'trails' I've ever written up for the Long Way's Better!

After pulling into check out the camping area at Temple Gorge and getting our hands dirty emptying our jerry can of spare fuel into our X-Trail's fuel tank, Alissa and I got back on the road for our last bit of unsealed road riding to Gascoyne Junction. On the way out, a cow standing by a pool of water served as a fitting finale to our road trip through the Upper Gascoyne. 

Long time readers will know that I don't usually write up short walks, mainly because I question how much they can really be called a 'hike'. I'm disinterested in clogging the blog with heaps of tiny walks just for the sake of content and, let's face it, it is a bit off-brand for a blog called the Long Way's Better. In spite of the fact it is not the kind of content I would normally write up, Honeycomb Gorge was a satisfying walk given the temperatures at the time of our visit limited what we could do, and was well worth checking out given the spectacular and almost alien nature of the sandstone formation. I'm glad Alissa and I were able to fit in this quick first visit to Kennedy Range, and I look forward to us returning in the future in the cooler months to tackle some of the park's longer trails.